Dodgers lefty Adam Liberatore will have elbow surgery, out for the post-season

LOS ANGELES – A big part of the Dodgers’ bullpen during the first half of the season, left-hander Adam Liberatore was not the same pitcher in August and September.

Now we know why.

Liberatore will undergo a debridement procedure on his left elbow Tuesday. The surgery to remove bone chips or other damaged tissue will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

Liberatore is expected to be ready for spring training in February but the surgery (similar to those undergone by Alex Wood and Hyun-Jin Ryu this season) takes Liberatore out of consideration for the post-season roster.

But Liberatore’s performance had already done that. He spent the first half of August on the disabled list with elbow inflammation, discomfort Liberatore acknowledged he had been pitching with since June.

Liberatore had a franchise-record string of 28 consecutive scoreless innings and a 0.72 ERA through the end of June. He never recaptured that form even after the rest on the DL. Hitters batted .350 against him over his last 14 appearances and Liberatore allowed 10 runs in his last 9 1/3 innings. Rookie Grant Dayton and Luis Avilan passed him on the bullpen pecking order among left-handers and even displaced starter Wood returned from his surgery to become a better post-season option.

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